Marco Polo
by Lillikins2013
Summary: What happens when Lily teaches everyone's favorite Marauders and Peter a muggle game? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

Marco Polo

Lily woke up to a very beautiful Saturday. She yawned, stretched and looked over towards the empty bed of her friend Alice Edwards. Lily remembered Alice telling her the previous night about her plans with her longtime boy friend, Frank Longbottom.

Sighing, she swung her legs over her bed and reached for her clothes and bathing suit. It was very sticky, so Lily decided to visit her favorite swimming spot. It was a little pond surrounded by a small sand bank and trees. It really was beautiful.

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The Marauders woke up to the same thoughts.

"Oi! Sirius, wake up! WAKE UP! Uhhhh, you leave me no other choice…" James grabbed his wand from his bedside table and pointed it at Sirius' head. When water spurred from the tip Sirius fell off his bed and stuttered.

"W-what was that for?!" He asked. "That water was freezing!"

"Come on, we need to leave quickly. I checked the map, you're idiot girlfriend is eating with her friends so we have to leave now to avoid her."

When they were all were dressed, Sirius with a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth, they made a run for it.

When they reached the Quidditch field there were some first years there pathetically trying to play the sport. They ducked inside the lockers rooms and grabbed their four brooms. Remus and Peter were using school brooms, but Sirius and James, being on the Gryffindor team, had Nimbus One thousands.

Running, once again, outside they were pelted with hot air.

"It's too sticky!"

"I'm sorry, Padfoot, what would you like me to do about that? Go have a nice chat with Mother Nature?" James replied sarcastically.

"Yes! That would be great, thanks!" Seeming pleased, James snorted at his friend.

"Relax you two." Remus said, yawning.

"I'm not good without food in my stomach!" Sirius complained.

"You know, it's your own fault, if you'd just break up with that _moron_ we could have eaten." James pleaded with his friend.

"Yeah, your ri-right," Sirius said yawning, too "but I'm gonna do it tonight, don't worry."

"You better." James muttered under his breathe.

"Let's go," finally reaching the shore of the Black Lake "Last one there is a screaming mandrake!" And with that, Sirius kicked off, shortly followed by James, then Remus with Peter behind him.

**(Author's note: Just too clear things up, their flying over the lake to the place their going.)**

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Lily had rushed through breakfast because of the heat. Sitting on the benched surrounded by talking people was like sitting in a fire. You could easily become stuck to the bench by your own sweat.

So, as fast as she could, Lily dashed out the Great Hall running by a Ravenclaw girl talking about how 'Siri-poo' was meeting her there. Lily laughed to herself. She sounded exactly like the girl she had over heard Sirius describing to the Marauders the other night. 'Clingy, clingy, clingy,' as Sirius said.

But she had little time to contemplate the thought of how some girls are so gaga for boys when she reached the waters edge. If she had turned around at that moment she would have seen four boys running towards the Quidditch pitch, but she didn't.

She was to busy dipping her toes into the wonderfully cool water. She quickly took off her clothes and levitated them over the trees on her left and further down the river bank where she knew a small bay was hidden.

Carefully dropping her clothes in an unknown spot, she wadded down a few meters until the water was up to her stomach. Then she took a deep breathe and dove under the satisfying water.

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James stopped short, causing Sirius to hit him slightly from behind.

"What's the problem, Prongs?" James held a finger up to his mouth to show Sirius to be quiet.

_What?_ He mouthed.

James pointed down to the water about twenty feet below them. Sirius followed his finger and saw the back of a girl swimming below the surface of the water.

He raised his eyebrows. James shrugged, but motioned for Sirius to follow him, both wearing an evil smirk they set off once again.

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Lily opened her eyes above water, _Just a little more to go_ she thought, and plunged once more under the water.

She recognized the water get shallower and the sand become a pleasant tan. Knowing she was at her destination she closed her eyes and raised her head above the surface, smoothing out her hair. But when she opened her eyes she let out a scream. There was James Potter, his face inches away from her own, lying flat on his broomstick, parallel to the water.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?!?!" she screamed.

"Nice to see you too, Lily." They had been on first name terms since they had called a truce at the beginning of the year when they were named Heads.

Lily started to back up and when she was poked in the back, she spun around facing a smirking Sirius Black, and screamed again.

"Mornin' Lily."

"Remus, thank god! What are dumb and dumber doing here?" The three looked at the other two boys who had just joined them.

"Sorry, Lily, I didn't see you, we were to far behind them. They came here to swim."

"No." She stated.

"No?" James repeated, slightly amused.

"Yes. No. You are not going to swim here, because I was here first."

"No you weren't."

"Yes, I was. And anyways, I don't see your names here."

"Yes, because their not here, their over there." James pointed at a large rock that had a clear inscription written on it:

THE MARAUDERS SWIMMING SPOT

FOR PRIVATE USE OF

MOONY, WORMTAIL, PADFOOT, AND PRONGS

AND ANYONE ELSE SHOULD THEY BE DEEMED WORTHY

"Bit of a long title, don't you think?" Lily scoffed.

"We can put it in simpler words if you like, how bout, ours?" Peter tried to smirk but it came off as more of a grimace.

"Now Wormtail, I'm surprised at you. Another part of the title is 'anyone else should they be deemed worthy', and I say Lily can swim here-"

"Good."

"-but we're not leaving." James finished.

Lily was dumbfounded. On one hand she really liked this spot, but share it with _them_? She had a big decision to make.

"Fine." She muttered.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sirius said as he flew over to the bank, dropped his broom and did a cannonball right next to Lily, spraying water everywhere.

"SIRIUS!" Sirius laughed and tried to swim away but Lily was to fast for him. She easily caught up to him in three seconds. The other Marauders laughed at the scene as they landed on the shore. Lily was pelting Sirius with small rocks from the bottom of the pool.

"Help…Help!" Sirius cried between defending himself from the rocks.

Remus eventually pulled Lily off, as the only Marauder she wouldn't massacre for touching her.

"I'm bored." Sirius stated.

"Good for you." Remus replied.

"


	2. Chapter 2

I don't nor ever did own any of J.K.'s charaters, places, or anything else she owns, unfortunately…

Remus pulled Lily off Sirius laughing "She got you Padfoot."

Lily smirked, Sirius scowled.

"I know," said Sirius, apparently over being agngry. "lets play a game!"

"What'd you have in mind, Padfoot?" James asked.

"Well, I don't know, Lily seems to want to play underwater wrestling." Sirius smirked in Lily's direction.

"NO! You were just being a git!" Lily crossed her arms and pouted.

"Fine, lets see who can hold their breathe under the longest!" Sirius said, excited.

"No, no, that's boring."

"Fine! What do you want to play, oh great Lily?" Sirius said sarcastically, angry, again, at Lily.

"Oh, I don't know, how about Marco polo?"

She received silence from the peanut gallery (James, Sirius and the backstabbing, little bug/rat/worm/lying filth…Oh, sorry, Ahm, Peter.) Remus, being the 'smart one' of the group (and Einstein compared to, well, you know.) politely asked "What?"

"Marco polo." Lily repeated. "It's a muggle game. There's one person who's 'it' and that person tried to tag the other people. Only he has his eyes closed."

"Well, how do you know where they are then?" Sirius asked, confused by the child's

game.

"Because when the person whose 'it' says 'Marco' everyone else says 'polo'. Make sense?"

"Hmn," There was a murmur of agreement.

"I want to be it!" cried Sirius, so he went to the middle of the pool, closed his eyes and counted "Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…here I come!" Sirius laughed at his rhyme.

He stumbled around for a minute for a minute until Wormtail tripped on a pebble and fell creating a splash near him and Lily, who was beside him.

Sirius grinned, hearing the noise. "Marco?"

Lily grimaced, priding herself in good sportsmanship she had to answer with the rest of them. "Polo" they chorused, but Sirius was already backing up towards Lily.

Seeing the approach she tried to swim past him but he heard her and grabbed her around the waist. Swinging her up onto his shoulder he walked/swam around in triumph.

And then something very strange happened. Historians are not sure if this is actually true at all, considering the improbable aspect of it but…

Lily laughed.

The boys started at her for a moment before joining in with her.

"Ok, I guess I'm it then." Lily said, still recovering from her laughing fit.

She counted and spread her arms wide "Marco"

"Polo" They all said.

But someone had said it right behind her. Forgetting what she was doing she lunged at the voice. It happened that she had thrown her arms around the neck and shoulders of the boy, all the time laughing.

She opened her eyes and looked into the beautiful hazel ones of none other than James Potter.

_God their beautiful._ She found herself thinking. Another part of her was screaming _This is James Potter we're talking about here! His eyes aren't beautiful; they make you want to make be sick. _Unfortunately for that part, it was drowned out by the first. The thoughts of his actions up to this point during the year, helping with Head duties, maturing, never hexing Snape, all for her, realization hit her, full force.

Then, she was leaning in, so was he, getting closer, and then she felt something on her cheek.

Looking up she saw the blue skys were replaced by gray storm clouds.

The rest of the Marauders were watching them.

"I, uh, I guess we should get inside." She muttered.

"Yeah, uh, before it rains."

They walked in silence out of pond, Lily put her clothes over her bathing suit, and the Marauders each out on a shirt.

Each shocked about the days events, three were thrilled she had come to her senses, one rethinking all her emotions up until this point, and one was so slow that he never really caught on.

(Later that night)

Lily lay awake as she heard her miniature Big Ben clock chime midnight. She could hear the rain hitting her window. It had continued to pour all afternoon and into the night, and now the morning.

She sighed. She hadn't been able to do anything after the incident.

Lily had been trying to identify what she felt when she looked into his eyes. It wasn't hatred (which was unusual before this year), fear, no. She felt security, hopefulness. But what was the last one?

Sighing, again, she climbed out of bed and headed down to the common room. She sat down on the couch right across from the slowly dying fire.

She was so distracted by her thoughts she didn't hear someone come in through the portrait hole.

That person, however, did notice the girl of his dreams sitting deep in thought on the couch.

"Couldn't sleep?" He whispered.

She looked startled for a minute then relaxed. "Yeah."

"Why?" He asked, sitting down beside her.

"Just have a lot on my mind." She said, still looking into the fire.

"Same here." He sighed, following her gaze and looking into the fire. "Thanks for the game, by the way. Sirius is already planning dates to play again."

"Great." She muttered, only partially hearing him. His presence was making it awfully hard to think about him.

"You could play with us if you wanted?"

"Maybe. I'll think about it." She said turning too him. Instantly she was hit the same emotions that she had felt before.

The same went for James. He lent in, as Lily finally figured out what the last emotion was. Love. And she lent in too.

(A Week Later)

"Race you there!"

"No fair, James, I'm new to the whole broomstick thing."

"Come'on, Lils! Or else Sirius will start before us."

"You do realize this is the twenty-first time we've played Marco Polo, don't you?"

"And it gets better every time!" He replied with a grin.

"No, it doesn't."

"Course it does." James said taking off."

"Why, the hell, did I teach Sirius that bloody game?" She muttered to herself.

"LILY?" She heard James call.

"Coming!" And she took off to play, for the twenty-first time in seven days (do the math) bloody Marco Polo.


End file.
